Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.
A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations (e.g., eNodeBs) that can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.
In carrier aggregation, the UE can be configured to communicate with a cell over multiple component carriers to facilitate improved data throughput, diversity, reliability, etc. One of the multiple component carriers is assigned as a primary component carrier, over which control data is communicated for the primary component carrier and any other secondary component carriers, which may include control information to activate/deactivate the secondary component carriers.
In multiple connectivity, the UE can be configured to communicate with multiple cells or cell groups configured by multiple base stations using multiple links. Each of the links may be configured with multiple component carriers (e.g., carrier aggregation over one or more of the multiple links with the corresponding cell group). In this configuration, the UE can communicate control data for each link over a primary component carrier configured for the given link.
Third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) UEs can support the ability to transmit a control channel and data channel in parallel, however this ability implies that the UE can support parallel control and data channel communications over a current baseband, but is band agnostic. Moreover, 3GPP LTE UEs can support the ability to communicate using non-contiguous resource allocations within a component carrier, which is signaled per band and is band specific. Thus, it is possible that a UE supports parallel control and data channel communications over a baseband, but does not support non-contiguous resource allocations within a component carrier, and therefore cannot support the parallel control and data channel communications within the component carrier. In carrier aggregation and dual connectivity, parallel control and data communications are not tied with a specific carrier or band, and thus if the UE is configured with parallel control and data transmissions, the handling is independent of whether the UE is capable of performing the parallel transmission on the same carrier, depending on its capability for the corresponding band.